Chapter one: I wish….
Orihime liked to watch Tatsuki practice her karate. It made her happy to see her friend having fun. Sometimes she wished she was like Tatsuki or Ichigo, strong and brave, but she couldn`t hurt anyone. She tried to enter karate with Tatsuki but she got kicked out after she refused to finish of her opponent.
She felt very useless sometimes and that she was a burden to everyone. Everyone had risked their lives to save her from Aizen, yet she hadn`t been able to help them fight. Oh well. No use worrying over it now.
"Hey Orihime, I`m finished" Tatsuki called out "I`ll go change. Can you wait for me at the gate?". "Yes Tatsuki" replied the orange haired girl jumping up and running to the gates. She reached the gates and leaned against the iron doors to catch her breath. I`ve got to toughen up she thought that little bit of exercise has got me panting like I've just run a marathon.
"Ready Orihime" she jumped at her friend's voice. "You frightened me Tatsuki" she replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "So Tatsuki you want to have dinner at my house tonight" asked Orihime. "Well I don`t exactly …." Seeing the look on her friends face she stopped. "Actually I was going to eat out today, you wanna come?"
"Sure Tatsuki. Where are we going?" "You know that restaurant we always went to when we were in middle school-""You mean the one where we tried to eat every flavor of ice cream they had in one month?" "Yeah that one" "Great" shouted Orihime pumping her fist up in the air "I wonder what I`m going to order. Maybe some fish an…..."
That meal with Tatsuki was delicious. Her black haired friend always knew how to cheer her up. She knelt down in front her brother`s picture and prayed for him like she usually did. At the end she decided to add "I want to become stronger and braver like Ichigo and Tatsuki and a better cook too. Please give me courage and strength to protect my friends." Satisfied she decided to go to bed.
Toshiro finished stamping his seemingly endless stack of papers and placed them on piles on the floor. He let out a sigh. Finally he was finished. He was going to punish that Rangiku for going out drinking again and not doing her share of the paper work. When he got his hands on her she was going to regret ever thinking about sake.
Rubbing his temples he got up and made his way to his bedroom. He changed into his nightclothes then rolled out his futon. He settled in and drifted to sleep. The idea of being a kid again crossed his mind. When playing games and having fun was his biggest responsibility. No lazy luitenant. No paperwork. The more he thought about the more tempting it became. Like when he had played soccer with Karin. Although he refused to admit it, that had been great fun. He wished he could do that more often.
Wait stop it right there! What was he thinking? He`s a captain, not just some kid. He had responsibility. He couldn`t go around daydreaming about playing games or whatever. The young captain of squad 10 snuggled more comfortably under his blanket trying to get rid of the idea. But once the thought was made it couldn`t be reversed. It lingered there for the rest of the night….